Field investigation of the drift shadow (open access)

Field investigation of the drift shadow

A drift shadow is an area immediately beneath an undergroundvoidthat, in theory, will be relatively drier than the surrounding rockmass. Numerical and analytical models of water flow through unsaturatedrock predict the existence of a drift shadow, but field tests confirmingits existence have yet to be performed. Proving the existence of driftshadows and understanding their hydrologic and transport characteristicscould provide a better understanding of how contaminants move in thesubsurface if released from waste emplacement drifts such as the proposednuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. We describe the fieldprogram that will be used to investigate the existence of a drift shadowand the corresponding hydrological process at the Hazel-Atlas silica-sandmine located at the Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve in Antioch,California. The location and configuration of this mine makes it anexcellent site to observe and measure drift shadow characteristics. Themine is located in a porous sandstone unit of the Domengine Formation, anapproximately 230 meter thick series of interbedded Eocene-age shales,coals, and massive-bedded sandstones. The mining method used at the minerequired the development of two parallel drifts, one above the other,driven along the strike of the mined sandstone stratum. Thisconfiguration provides the opportunity to introduce water into the rockmass in the upper drift and …
Date: September 8, 2005
Creator: Su, Grace W.; Kneafsey, Timothy J.; Ghezzehei, Teamrat A.; Marshall, Brian D. & Cook, Paul J.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Concealed Threat Detection at Multiple Frames-per-second (open access)

Concealed Threat Detection at Multiple Frames-per-second

In this LDRD project, our research purpose is to investigate the science and technology necessary to enable real-time array imaging as a rapid way to detect hidden threats through obscurants such as smoke, fog, walls, doors, and clothing. The goal of this research is to augment the capabilities of protective forces in concealed threat detection. In the current context, threats include people as well as weapons. In most cases, security personnel must make very fast assessments of a threat based upon limited amount of data. Among other attributes, UWB has been shown and quantified to penetrate and propagate through many materials (wood, some concretes, non-metallic building materials, some soils, etc.) while maintaining high range resolution. We have build collaborations with university partners and government agencies. We have considered the impact of psychometrics on target recognition and identification. Specifically we have formulated images in real-time that will engage the user's vision system in a more active way to enhance image interpretation capabilities. In this project, we are researching the use of real time (field programmable gate arrays) integrated with high resolution (cm scale), ultra wide band (UWB) electromagnetic signals for imaging personnel through smoke and walls. We evaluated the ability of …
Date: November 8, 2005
Creator: Chang, J T
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Remaining Sites Verification Package for the 600-233 Waste Site, Vertical Pipe Near 100-B Electrical Laydown Area, Waste Site Reclassification Form 2005-041 (open access)

Remaining Sites Verification Package for the 600-233 Waste Site, Vertical Pipe Near 100-B Electrical Laydown Area, Waste Site Reclassification Form 2005-041

The 600-233 waste site consisted of three small-diameter pipelines within the 600-232 waste site, including previously unknown diesel fuel supply lines discovered during site remediation. The 600-233 waste site has been remediated to achieve the remedial action objectives specified in the Remaining Sites ROD. The results of verification sampling show that residual contaminant concentrations do not preclude any future uses and allow for unrestricted use of shallow zone soils. The results also demonstrate that residual contaminant concentrations are protective of groundwater and the Columbia River.
Date: December 8, 2005
Creator: Carlson, R. A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Software Design for Particles in Incompressible flow, non-subcycled case (open access)

Software Design for Particles in Incompressible flow, non-subcycled case

To implement an AMR incompressible Navier-Stokes with particles algorithm, we have decided to use a non-subcycled algorithm to simplify the implementation of the particle drag forcing term. This requires a fairly broad redesign of the software from what was presented in [1], since we will no longer be using the AMR/AMR Level base classes to manage the AMR hierarchy. The new classes map on to the functionality of the classes in the original design in a fairly straightforward way, as illustrated in Table 1. The new PAmrNS class takes on the functionality of the Particle AMRNS class in the earlier implementation, along with the functionality of the AMR and Amr Level classes in the Chombo AMR Time Dependent library. The new Amr Projector class replaces the original CC Projector class, while the new AMR Particle Projector class replaces the original Particle Projector class. A basic diagram of the class relationships between the AMRINS-particles classes is depicted in Figure 1. The PAmrNS class will manage the AMR hierarchy and the non-subcycled advance. The non-subcycled advance is much simpler than the subcycled case, both in terms of algorithmic complexity (no need for synchronization projections, etc) and in terms of software implementation. The …
Date: February 8, 2005
Creator: Martin, Daniel; Martin, Dan & Colella, Phil
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
HOT ELECTRON ENERGY DISTRIBUTIONS FROM ULTRA-INTENSE LASER SOLID INTERACTIONS (open access)

HOT ELECTRON ENERGY DISTRIBUTIONS FROM ULTRA-INTENSE LASER SOLID INTERACTIONS

We present experimental data of electron energy distributions from ultra-intense (>10{sup 19} W/cm{sup 2}) laser-solid interactions using the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory Vulcan petawatt laser. These measurements were made using a CCD-based magnetic spectrometer. We present details on the distinct effective temperatures that were obtained for a wide variety of targets as a function of laser intensity. It is found that as the intensity increases from 10{sup 17} W/cm{sup 2} to 10{sup 19} W/cm{sup 2}, a 0.4 dependence on the laser intensity is found. Between 10{sup 19} W/cm{sup 2} and 10{sup 20} W/cm{sup 2}, a gradual rolling off of temperature with intensity is observed.
Date: December 8, 2005
Creator: Chen, H; Wilks, S C; Kruer, W L; Moon, S; Patel, N; Patel, P K et al.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Parallel Ocean Model With Adaptive Mesh Refinement Capability For Global Ocean Prediction (open access)

A Parallel Ocean Model With Adaptive Mesh Refinement Capability For Global Ocean Prediction

An ocean model with adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) capability is presented for simulating ocean circulation on decade time scales. The model closely resembles the LLNL ocean general circulation model with some components incorporated from other well known ocean models when appropriate. Spatial components are discretized using finite differences on a staggered grid where tracer and pressure variables are defined at cell centers and velocities at cell vertices (B-grid). Horizontal motion is modeled explicitly with leapfrog and Euler forward-backward time integration, and vertical motion is modeled semi-implicitly. New AMR strategies are presented for horizontal refinement on a B-grid, leapfrog time integration, and time integration of coupled systems with unequal time steps. These AMR capabilities are added to the LLNL software package SAMRAI (Structured Adaptive Mesh Refinement Application Infrastructure) and validated with standard benchmark tests. The ocean model is built on top of the amended SAMRAI library. The resulting model has the capability to dynamically increase resolution in localized areas of the domain. Limited basin tests are conducted using various refinement criteria and produce convergence trends in the model solution as refinement is increased. Carbon sequestration simulations are performed on decade time scales in domains the size of the North Atlantic and …
Date: September 8, 2005
Creator: Herrnstein, A
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Z-Beamlet (ZBL) Multi-Frame Back-lighter (MFB) System for ICF/Plasma Diagnostics (open access)

Z-Beamlet (ZBL) Multi-Frame Back-lighter (MFB) System for ICF/Plasma Diagnostics

Z-Beamlet [1] is a single-beam high-energy Nd:glass laser used for backlighting high energy density (HED) plasma physics experiments at Sandia's Z-accelerator facility. The system currently generates a single backlit image per experiment, and has been employed on approximately 50% of Z-accelerator system shots in recent years. We have designed and are currently building a system that uses Z-Beamlet to generate two distinct backlit images with adjustable time delay ranging from 2 to 20 ns between frames. The new system will double the rate of data collection and allow the temporal evolution of high energy density phenomena to be recorded on a single shot.
Date: September 8, 2005
Creator: Caird, J A; Erlandson, A C; Molander, W A; Murray, J E; Robertson, G K; Smith, I C et al.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Reasearch Activities for the Establishment of The Center for Sustainable Energy (open access)

Reasearch Activities for the Establishment of The Center for Sustainable Energy

In 2003, Bronx Community College received a grant of $481,000 through the United States Department of Energy for the purpose of conducting research- related activities leading to the creation of the Center for Sustainable Energy at Bronx Community College. The award, which was administered on behalf of Bronx Community College by the Research Foundation of the City University of New York, was initially for one year, from October 2003 through September 30, 2004. It received a no-cost extension to June 30, 2005. This report presents a summary of the activities and accomplishments attributable to the award.
Date: August 8, 2005
Creator: Seliger, Michael
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Molecular Assessment of Phylogenetic Relationships and LineageDiversification Within the Family Salamandridae (Amphibia, Caudata) (open access)

A Molecular Assessment of Phylogenetic Relationships and LineageDiversification Within the Family Salamandridae (Amphibia, Caudata)

Phylogenetic relationships among species of the salamanderfamily Salamandridae are investigated using nearly 3000 nucleotide basesof newly reported mitochondrial DNA sequence data from the mtDNA genicregion spanning the genes tRNALeu-COI. This study uses nearlycomprehensive species-level sampling to provide the first completephylogeny for the Salamandridae. Deep phylogenetic relationships amongthe three most divergent lineages in the family Salamandrina terdigitata,a clade comprising the "True" salamanders, and a clade comprising allnewts except S. terdigitata are difficult to resolve. However, mostrelationships within the latter two lineages are resolved with robustlevels of branch support. The genera Euproctus and Triturus arestatistically shown to be nonmonophyletic, instead each contains adiverse set of lineages positioned within the large newt clade. The genusParamesotriton is also resolve as a nonmonophyletic group, with the newlydescribed species P. laoensis constituting a divergent lineage placed ina sister position to clade containing all Pachytriton species and allremaining Paramesotriton species. Sequence divergences between P.laoensis and other Paramesotriton species are as great as those comparingP. laoensis and species of the genera Cynops and Pachytriton. Analyses oflineage diversification across the Salamandridae indicate that, despiteits exceptional diversity, lineage accumulation appears to have beenconstant across time, indicating that it does not represent a truespecies radiation.
Date: August 8, 2005
Creator: Weisrock, David W.; Papenfuss, Theodore J.; Macey, J. Robert; Litvinchuk, Spartak N.; Polymeni, Rosa; Ugurtas, Ismail H. et al.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Coordination Complexes of Decamethylytterbocene with4,4'-Disubstituted Bipyridines: An Experimental Study of Spin Coupling inLanthanide Complexes (open access)

Coordination Complexes of Decamethylytterbocene with4,4'-Disubstituted Bipyridines: An Experimental Study of Spin Coupling inLanthanide Complexes

The paramagnetic 1:1 coordination complexes of (C5Me5)2Ybwith a series of 4,4'-disubstituted bipyridines, bipy-X, where X is Me,tert-Bu, OMe, Ph, CO2Me, and CO2Et have been prepared. All of thecomplexes are paramagnetic and the values of the magnetic susceptibilityas a function of temperature show that these values are less thanexpected for the cation, [(C5Me5)2Yb(III)(bipy-X)]+, which have beenisolated as the cation-anion ion-pairs[(C5Me5)2Yb(III)(bipy-X)]+[(C5Me5)2YbI2]f fnfn where X is CO2Et, OMe andMe. The 1H NMR chemical shifts (293 K) for the methine resonances locatedat the 6,6' site in the bipy-X ring show a linear relationship with thevalues of chiT (300 K) for the neutral complexes which illustrates thatthe molecular behavior does not depend upon the phase with one exception,viz., (C5Me5)2Yb(bipy-Me). Single crystals of the 4,4'-dimethylbipyridinecomplex undergo an irreversible, abrupt first order phase change at 228 Kthat shatters the single crystals. The magnetic susceptibility,represented in a delta vs. T plot, on this complex, in polycrystallineform undergoes reversible abrupt changes in the temperature regime 205 -212 K, which is suggested to be due to the way the individual molec ularunits pack in the unit cell. A qualitative model is proposed thataccounts for the sub-normal magnetic moments in theseytterbocene-bipyridine complexes.
Date: December 8, 2005
Creator: Walter, Marc D.; Berg, David J. & Andersen, Richard A.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Environmental Fate of Organophosphorus Compounds Related to Chemical Weapons (open access)

Environmental Fate of Organophosphorus Compounds Related to Chemical Weapons

Man-made organophosphorus compounds have been widely distributed throughout our environment as pesticides since their development during and after WWII. Many important studies have documented their relative persistence and toxicity. Development and use of some organophosphorus compounds as nerve agents gave rise to a separate but parallel effort to understand environmental persistence. In this latter case, the experiments have focused mainly on evaporation rates and first-order reaction kinetics. However, because organophosphorus compounds are easily polarized, the ionic content of a surrounding media directly factors into these reaction rates, but limited work in this regard has been done under environmentally relevant conditions. Furthermore, limited experiments investigating persistence of these agents on soil has resulted in widely varying degradation rates. Not surprisingly, no studies have investigated affinities of organophosphorus nerve agents to mineral or organic matter typically found in soil. As a result, we initiated laboratory experiments on dilute concentrations of nerve agent O-ethyl S-(2-diisopropylaminoethyl) methylphosphonothiolate (VX) to quantify persistence in simulated environmental aqueous conditions. A quantitative analytical method was developed for VX and its degradation products using High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Electrospray Ionization-Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS). VX hydrolysis rate is known to have a pH-dependency, however, the type of buffer and the relative proportion …
Date: February 8, 2005
Creator: Davisson, M L; Love, A H; Vance, A & Reynolds, J G
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Update of Market Assessment for Capturing Water Conservation Opportunities in the Federal Sector (open access)

Update of Market Assessment for Capturing Water Conservation Opportunities in the Federal Sector

This updated market assessment for capturing water conservation opportunities in the Federal sector is based on a new analytical approach that utilizes newly available data and technologies. The new approach fine-tunes the original assessment by using actual Federal water use, which is now tracked by DOE (as compared to using estimated water use). Federal building inventory data is also used to disseminate water use by end-use technology in the Federal sector. In addition, this analysis also examines the current issues and obstacles that face performance contracting of water efficiency projects at Federal sites.
Date: September 8, 2005
Creator: McMordie-Stoughton, Katherine L.; Solana, Amy E.; Elliott, Douglas B.; Sullivan, Gregory P. & Parker, Graham B.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Progress Toward the Analysis of the Kinetic Stabilizer Concept (open access)

Progress Toward the Analysis of the Kinetic Stabilizer Concept

The Kinetic Stabilizer (K-S) concept [1] represents a means for stabilizing axisymmetric mirror and tandem-mirror (T-M) magnetic fusion systems against MHD interchange instability modes. Magnetic fusion research has given us examples of axisymmetric mirror confinement devices in which radial transport rates approach the classical ''Spitzer'' level, i.e. situations in which turbulence if present at all, is at too low a level to adversely affect the radial transport [2,3,4]. If such a low-turbulence condition could be achieved in a T-M system it could lead to a fusion power system that would be simpler, smaller, and easier to develop than one based on closed-field confinement, e.g., the tokamak, where the transport is known to be dominated by turbulence. However, since conventional axisymmetric mirror systems suffer from the MHD interchange instability, the key to exploiting this new opportunity is to find a practical way to stabilize this mode. The K-S represents one avenue to achieving this goal. The starting point for the K-S concept is a theoretical analysis by Ryutov [5]. He showed that a MHD-unstable plasma contained in an axisymmetric mirror cell can be MHD-stabilized by the presence of a low-density plasma on the expanding field lines outside the mirrors. If this …
Date: February 8, 2005
Creator: Post, R. F.; Byers, J. A.; Cohen, R. H.; Fowler, T. K.; Ryutov, D. D. & Tung, L. S.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Integrated Surface-groundwater Flow Modeling: a Free-surface Overland Flow Boundary Condition in a Parallel Groundwater Flow Model (open access)

Integrated Surface-groundwater Flow Modeling: a Free-surface Overland Flow Boundary Condition in a Parallel Groundwater Flow Model

Interactions between surface and ground water are a key component of the hydrologic budget on the watershed scale. Models that honor these interactions are commonly based on the conductance concept that presumes a distinct interface at the land surface, separating the surface from the subsurface domain. These types of models link the subsurface and surface domains via an exchange flux that depends upon the magnitude and direction of the hydraulic gradient across the interface and a proportionality constant (a measure of the hydraulic connectivity). Because experimental evidence of such a distinct interface is often lacking in field systems, there is a need for a more general coupled modeling approach. A more general coupled model is presented that incorporates a new two-dimensional overland flow simulator into the parallel three-dimensional variable saturated subsurface flow code ParFlow. In ParFlow, the overland flow simulator takes the form of an upper boundary condition and is, thus, fully integrated without relying on the conductance concept. Another important advantage of this approach is the efficient parallelism incorporated into ParFlow, which is efficiently exploited by the overland flow simulator. Several verification and simulation examples are presented that focus on the two main processes of runoff production: excess infiltration …
Date: April 8, 2005
Creator: Kollet, S J & Maxwell, R M
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Multiband GaNAsP Quaternary Alloys (open access)

Multiband GaNAsP Quaternary Alloys

We have synthesized GaN{sub x}As{sub 1-y}P{sub y} alloys (x {approx} 0.3-1% and y = 0-0.4) using nitrogen N ion implantation into GaAsP epilayers followed by pulsed laser melting and rapid thermal annealing techniques. As predicted by the band anticrossing model, the incorporation of N splits the conduction band (E{sub M}) of the GaAs{sub 1-y}P{sub y} substrate, and strong optical transitions from the valence band to the lower (E{sub -}) and upper (E{sub +}) conduction subbands are observed. The relative strengths of the E{sub -} and E{sub +} transition change as the localized N level E{sub N} emerges from the conduction band forming narrow intermediate band for y > 0.3. The results show that GaN{sub x}As{sub 1-x-y}P{sub y} alloys with y > 0.3 is a three band semiconductor alloy with potential applications for high-efficiency intermediate band solar cells.
Date: December 8, 2005
Creator: Yu, K. M.; Walukiewicz, W.; Ager, J. W., III; Bour, D.; Farshchi, R.; Dubon, O. D. et al.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Using stochastically-generated subcolumns to represent cloud structure in a large-scale model (open access)

Using stochastically-generated subcolumns to represent cloud structure in a large-scale model

A new method for representing subgrid-scale cloud structure, in which each model column is decomposed into a set of subcolumns, has been introduced into the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory's global climate model AM2. Each subcolumn in the decomposition is homogeneous but the ensemble reproduces the initial profiles of cloud properties including cloud fraction, internal variability (if any) in cloud condensate, and arbitrary overlap assumptions that describe vertical correlations. These subcolumns are used in radiation and diagnostic calculations, and have allowed the introduction of more realistic overlap assumptions. This paper describes the impact of these new methods for representing cloud structure in instantaneous calculations and long-term integrations. Shortwave radiation computed using subcolumns and the random overlap assumption differs in the global annual average by more than 4 W/m{sup 2} from the operational radiation scheme in instantaneous calculations; much of this difference is counteracted by a change in the overlap assumption to one in which overlap varies continuously with the separation distance between layers. Internal variability in cloud condensate, diagnosed from the mean condensate amount and cloud fraction, has about the same effect on radiative fluxes as does the ad hoc tuning accounting for this effect in the operational radiation scheme. Long …
Date: December 8, 2005
Creator: Pincus, R; Hemler, R & Klein, S A
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Proposed Babel/SIDL Changes to Support RMI (open access)

Proposed Babel/SIDL Changes to Support RMI

None
Date: July 8, 2005
Creator: Kumfert, G & Leek, J
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
HUNTing the Overlap (open access)

HUNTing the Overlap

Hiding communication latency is an important optimization for parallel programs. Programmers or compilers achieve this by using non-blocking communication primitives and overlapping communication with computation or other communication operations. Using non-blocking communication raises two issues: performance and programmability. In terms of performance, optimizers need to find a good communication schedule and are sometimes constrained by lack of full application knowledge. In terms of programmability, efficiently managing non-blocking communication can prove cumbersome for complex applications. In this paper we present the design principles of HUNT, a runtime system designed to search and exploit some of the available overlap present at execution time in UPC programs. Using virtual memory support, our runtime implements demand-driven synchronization for data involved in communication operations. It also employs message decomposition and scheduling heuristics to transparently improve the non-blocking behavior of applications. We provide a user level implementation of HUNT on a variety of modern high performance computing systems. Results indicate that our approach is successful in finding some of the overlap available at execution time. While system and application characteristics influence performance, perhaps the determining factor is the time taken by the CPU to execute a signal handler. Demand driven synchronization at execution time eliminates the …
Date: July 8, 2005
Creator: Iancu, Costin; Parry, Husbands & Hargrove, Paul
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Gaseous Laser Targets and Optical Dignostics for Studying Compressible Turbulent Hydrodynamic Instabilities (open access)

Gaseous Laser Targets and Optical Dignostics for Studying Compressible Turbulent Hydrodynamic Instabilities

The possibility of studying compressible turbulent flows using gas targets driven by high power lasers and diagnosed with optical techniques is investigated. The potential advantage over typical laser experiments that use solid targets and x-ray diagnostics is more detailed information over a larger range of spatial scales. An experimental system is described to study shock - jet interactions at high Mach number. This consists of a mini-chamber full of nitrogen at a pressure {approx} 1 atms. The mini-chamber is situated inside a much larger vacuum chamber. An intense laser pulse ({approx}100J in {approx} 5ns) is focused on to a thin {approx} 0.3{micro}m thick silicon nitride window at one end of the mini-chamber. The window acts both as a vacuum barrier, and laser entrance hole. The ''explosion'' caused by the deposition of the laser energy just inside the window drives a strong blast wave out into the nitrogen atmosphere. The spherical shock expands and interacts with a jet of xenon introduced though the top of the mini-chamber. The Mach number of the interaction is controlled by the separation of the jet from the explosion. The resulting flow is visualized using an optical schlieren system using a pulsed laser source at a …
Date: February 8, 2005
Creator: Edwards, M J; Hansen, J; Miles, A R; Froula, D; Gregori, G; Glenzer, S et al.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
New Theoretical Insight into the Interactions and Properties of Formic Acid: Development of a Quantum-Based Pair Potential for Formic Acid. (open access)

New Theoretical Insight into the Interactions and Properties of Formic Acid: Development of a Quantum-Based Pair Potential for Formic Acid.

We performed ab initio quantum chemical studies for the development of intra and intermolecular interaction potentials for formic acid for use in molecular dynamics simulations of formic acid molecular crystal. The formic acid structures considered in the ab initio studies include both the cis and trans monomers which are the conformers that have been postulated as part of chains constituting liquid and crystal phases under extreme conditions. Although the cis to trans transformation is not energetically favored, the trans isomer was found as a component of stable gas-phase species. Our decomposition scheme for the interaction energy indicates that the hydrogen bonded complexes are dominated by the Hartree-Fock forces while parallel clusters are stabilized by the electron correlation energy. The calculated three-body and higher interactions are found to be negligible, thus rationalizing the development of an atom-atom pair potential for formic acid based on high-level ab initio calculations of small formic acid clusters. Here we present an atom-atom pair potential that includes both intra- and inter-molecular degrees of freedom for formic acid. The newly developed pair potential is used to examine formic acid in the condensed phase via molecular dynamics simulations. The isothermal compression under hydrostatic pressure obtained from molecular dynamics …
Date: August 8, 2005
Creator: Roszak, S; Gee, R; Balasubramanian, K & Fried, L
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Effective Medium Theories for Multicomponent Poroelastic Composites (open access)

Effective Medium Theories for Multicomponent Poroelastic Composites

In Biot's theory of poroelasticity, elastic materials contain connected voids or pores and these pores may be filled with fluids under pressure. The fluid pressure then couples to the mechanical effects of stress or strain applied externally to the solid matrix. Eshelby's formula for the response of a single ellipsoidal elastic inclusion in an elastic whole space to a strain imposed at a distant boundary is a very well-known and important result in elasticity. Having a rigorous generalization of Eshelby's results valid for poroelasticity means that the hard part of Eshelby's work (in computing the elliptic integrals needed to evaluate the fourth-rank tensors for inclusions shaped like spheres, oblate and prolate spheroids, needles and disks) can be carried over from elasticity to poroelasticity--and also thermoelasticity--with only relatively minor modifications. Effective medium theories for poroelastic composites such as rocks can then be formulated easily by analogy to well-established methods used for elastic composites. An identity analogous to Eshelby's classic result has been derived [Physical Review Letters 79:1142-1145 (1997)] for use in these more complex and more realistic problems in rock mechanics analysis. Descriptions of the application of this result as the starting point for new methods of estimation are presented, including …
Date: February 8, 2005
Creator: Berger, E. L.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Spinodal-Assisted Polymer Crystallization (open access)

Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Spinodal-Assisted Polymer Crystallization

Large scale molecular dynamics simulations of bulk melts of polar (poly(vinylidene fluoride) (pVDF)) polymers are utilized to study chain conformation and ordering prior to crystallization under cooling. While the late stages of polymer crystallization have been studied in great detail, recent theoretical and experimental evidence indicates that there are important phenomena occurring in the early stages of polymer crystallization that are not understood to the same degree. When the polymer melt is quenched from a temperature above the melting temperature to the crystallization temperature, crystallization does not occur instantaneously. This initial interval without crystalline order is characterized as an induction period. It has been thought of as a nucleation period in the classical theories of polymer crystallization, but recent experiments, computer simulations, and theoretical work suggest that the initial period in polymer crystallization is assisted by a spinodal decomposition type mechanism. In this study we have achieved physically realistic length scales to study early stages of polymer ordering, and show that spinodal-assisted ordering prior to crystallization is operative in polar polymers suggesting general applicability of this process.
Date: July 8, 2005
Creator: Gee, R H; Lacevic, N M & Fried, L
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Gratings for High-Energy Petawatt Lasers (open access)

Gratings for High-Energy Petawatt Lasers

To enable high-energy petawatt laser operation we have developed the processing methods and tooling that produced both the world's largest multilayer dielectric reflection grating and the world's highest laser damage resistant gratings. We have successfully delivered the first ever 80 cm aperture multilayer dielectric grating to LLNL's Titan Intense Short Pulse Laser Facility. We report on the design, fabrication and characterization of multilayer dielectric diffraction gratings.
Date: November 8, 2005
Creator: Nguyen, H T; Britten, J. A.; Carlson, T. C.; Nissen, J. D.; Summers, L. J.; Hoaglan, C. R. et al.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Comparison and Evaluation of Three Fiber Composite Failure Criteria (open access)

The Comparison and Evaluation of Three Fiber Composite Failure Criteria

Three specific failure criteria for the transversely isotropic fiber composite case will be discussed. All three use the polynomial expansion method. The three criteria are the Tsai-Wu criterion, the Hashin criterion and the Christensen criterion. All three criteria will be given in forms that admit direct and easy comparison, which has not usually been done. The central differences between these three criteria will be discussed, and steps will be taken toward the evaluation of them.
Date: February 8, 2005
Creator: Christensen, R M
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library